No, same-sex marriage will not cause 900,000 abortions

A group of 100 conservative lawyers and academics recently filed a Supreme Court brief arguing that gay marriage will cause 900,000 abortions over the next 30 years.

By The Washington PostTuesday, April 21, 2015

Aaron Huntsman, left, and William Lee Jones kiss after being declared legally married early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, on the steps of the Monroe County Courthouse. The couple obtained the first same-sex marriage license issued in the Florida Keys. Huntsman and Jones helped to pave the way for marriage equality in Florida with a lawsuit protesting the state's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage.Photo: Courtesy Fla-keys.com

Aaron Huntsman, left, and William Lee Jones exchange wedding vows on the steps of the Monroe County Courthouse in Key West, Fla., on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. Courtesy Fla-keys.com

It goes something like this: same-sex marriage “undermines” traditional marriage, which leads to lower marriage rates. And lower marriage rates mean more abortions, because unmarried women get more abortions than married women do. This represents “a short and simple causal chain that the Supreme Court would be wise not to set in motion,” according to Schaerr.